Unexpected Love
by TeamEthanMorgan
Summary: One day, Ethan was in love with Sarah. The next day, he decides to break up with her. Why was it? Was it because he didn't have feelings for her anymore? Or was there another girl? Ethan/Erica
1. The Chance

**Well, I'm trying something new in here. A new ship. I like this one. I mean, I'm not fully an Ethica shipper, but I guess I see some chemistry between them.**

**So, I should start now. Yay! (I'm back to being childish.)**

* * *

"Come on. You like him. Just ask him out," Benny whispered to Erica. The only reason she was with him was because he was keeping a big secret of hers, which was her crush on Ethan. She didn't like to admit it much, but she felt something for him. Yet, she knew he never did. But maybe he and Sarah being just friends again would be a good step for Erica. "Plus, he still remembers you."

"He does?" she asked him. "You never told me before."

Everyone knew Erica was bullied before she turned, and she didn't like looking back into those memories. But there was one moment she liked to relive a lot.

* * *

_It was Erica's last year in middle school, and eighth grade wasn't very easy for her. Everywhere she'd walk, there would be the "popular kids" coming towards her, trying to tease her. Sometimes, they'd make fun of her glasses and weak eyes, sometimes how she ate, and sometimes how she looked. She hated it very much._

_Other than this year, she had four more years in high school. Hell was just coming her way._

_Just when school was about to end, she went to her locker to get some books for homework and get out quickly. Just when she zipped her bag, she noticed a few kids coming her way. She wanted to go and run, but she couldn't. They'd call her a coward next time. _

"_Going home so soon, Erica?" one of the girls had asked her in a very annoying tone._

"_Get away from me," she muttered._

"_What? Scared?" a guy asked her._

"_Look, I just want to go home." All her life she wanted her mother to see her come back safely with no bruises, but that wouldn't happen. Not now. Not ever.  
_

_The same guy put his hand on her shoulder, pinning her against her locker. "Why? Are we bothering you?"_

_She was about to reply, but she heard a voice bravely saying, "You must be blind, then, if you don't notice that."_

_Beside them stood a boy, maybe two years younger, she guessed. Definitely a sixth grader. Even though she knew he was already a bullying target, she wanted to yell at him to go away and not get in trouble with bullies older than him._

"_Mind your own business, nerd," one said._

"_Am _I_ bothering you now?" He fake-pouted. "Oh, I'm sorry." This time, he put his hand on his chest, showing a fake apology through his face._

_Erica found it funny. It was either his acting made her laugh or because he was so stupid yet courageous that he'd come and help her. Immediately, she was slammed against her locker to stop her from laughing, and her back started to hurt. But surprisingly, he let go of her and got a hold of the boy in front of him by taking his arm._

"_Listen, kid," he said. The boy's face showed pain, and it must've been the hard grip. "Stay out of my way."_

_Then he left. It was surprising that he left so quickly. Maybe it was the fact that someone was teasing _him_ too._

_The boy looked at his arms, covered them, and then quickly walked away. But Erica couldn't let him just leave like that. "Wait, hold on," she called after him. When he looked at her, she smiled. "Thank you."_

"_It's nothing," he said, sharing his smile too. _

"_I'm Erica, by the way," she introduced herself._

"_Ethan, but you don't need to remember my name," he said._

_Before she could say anything, he caught up to two boys, one blonde and another one with dark hair, and walked outside the school building._

* * *

Ever since, they started talking to each other, saying hi, giving each other grins, eating together and hanging out. She even met Benny, though she didn't remember Rory much. But when she went to high school, she didn't get a chance to see Ethan again for two years. Even though he was younger, she still missed him. But then he entered high school too. And with the Morgans offering money for babysitting, she knew she had to go and help. It was all just to see her friend again. But then Jesse came with his friend Gord who bit her. Things changed afterwards and she knew Ethan wouldn't recognize her much. He wouldn't like her. She was too mean to him, and she didn't like that part of her.

But now, she was happy to be wrong.

"That's because I promised him not to, but I kind of wanted to tell you, so I did."

"Then why did you both pretend to forget who I was when you first saw me?" she asked.

"I didn't. To be fair, I didn't know it was you at first. And Ethan… he thought _you_ forgot about him, so he tried to forget about you. Obviously, that didn't work well." Hope was back to her now.

She laughed at little. It was just a happy chuckle. "He remembers me," she tried to get it through her head.

"Yes, _and_ Sarah won't be there to babysit Jane this week because her cousin is getting married, so you have a chance to be there instead of her."

"But-"

"Just take the job and get this over with. I'm tired." He leaned back against a locker, making an exaggerated sigh come out of him mouth.

She wanted to, but she didn't know if her parents would let her go back after she told them she didn't want to. "I'll see if I can."

"Yes," Benny said to himself, which made Erica roll her eyes. "You've made this so much easier on both of us."

There was a question floating in her head for a while, so she asked Benny, "Does he hate me?"

"What?" he asked in surprise. "Of course not. Why?"

"'Cause I tease him a lot," she said.

"Well, he doesn't say anything about your teasing," Benny said.

Nodding, she thanked him and continued talking to him until she reached class and it was time to get separated from her friend.

* * *

**Well, this was just an introducing chapter, and I hope you like how it's going so far. I just needed to show Benny and Erica's friendship this chapter 'cause I'll use this in later chapters too. **

**Well, until next time…**

**-TEM**


	2. The Babysitting Night

**Yay! Hello my fellow Ethica readers! **

**Well, I have not much to say except… enjoy!**

* * *

When Ethan was on his computer, doing the last of his homework, his mother came in through the door, making him look and smile at her. She was trying to see what was on the computer screen.

"Okay, how much homework do they give you that you need to spend a lot of time on Google?" she asked.

He laughed, getting used to his mom commenting on this. "It's fine, Mom. I'm almost done, anyway."

After she nodded she said, "I came here to tell you that your new babysitter is coming in about five minutes. Well, she's not exactly new."

Her reaching out for the doorknob made Ethan realize that she was about to leave, but he stopped her from doing that with a question. "Who is she?"

"Oh, it's Erica," she simply said.

"Erica?" A mix of surprise and happiness suddenly came. If there was one thing he knew, she didn't stand him. Not anymore. It was surprising since they were good friends in middle school. But that made him realize that maybe he did something wrong. He didn't think he did anything. She was his best friend and he wanted her to stay that way. Sadly, things changed. Even with that, he was happy that she actually took the job of babysitting Jane and coming to his house for once. He really missed her, and maybe she'd bring the old her out when no one but him was around. When he thought about it, he thought, _I'm no one to her. Why would she do that?_

"Yeah," Samantha confirmed. "Hey, weren't you two friend before?"

"_Were_ friends," he emphasized.

She just blink, looked away and then turned to the door. "Well, if you need anything, call me, okay?"

Smiling, he nodded. When she left, he continued with his homework, which he was quickly done with. After that, he heard the door bell ring. _Erica_, he figured out.

He had two intentions for going down. One was because he needed water from the exhaustion that was called homework, and another was because he wanted to see Erica. His parents were already at the door and he was in the kitchen, away from the view of everything, so he didn't have to bother with opening it.

"Hey, Mr. and Mrs. Morgan," she greeted in such a sweet tone that he was surprised. After they said their 'hi's back and she began apologizing for not coming for her job last time, which his parents easily forgave. Ross told her a few things she had to keep in mind like Jane's bed time and where their phone numbers were and said goodbye to everyone. He didn't realize he was still in the kitchen until he heard Jane's yells of happiness.

"Wanna play Dance, Dance Revolution?" Jane was already used to Erica, but it was normal for her to try to tire out or torture Ethan's friends.

He got out of the kitchen, now holding a bag of chips in his hands. When she saw him, they both shared a smile. Weirdly, it wasn't a mocking or mean smile. It was a nice one.

"It's the only game she makes everyone cry in," he commented.

Jane just smiled sweetly at the babysitter.

"I'll consider myself warned," she said. His sister took her arm, dragging her to the living room where the game console was plugged in. This he had to see.

He followed the two inside. The first thing he saw was Erica helping Jane with the TV and the game. _Weird. Erica usually lets my sister struggle with the cables. _

He put the thoughts aside, and for thirty minutes, he saw the two playing the game with Jane beating Erica every time. She was so energetic that she wanted to play again, but Erica was growing bored of the game. So, they decided to watch whatever it was Jane wanted, which was a horror movie. The two supernaturals didn't really want Jane complaining about nightmares, so they put a comedy movie. Of course, they had to deal with her protesting. When the movie's end was nearing, Jane was already fast asleep on the couch.

Erica turned her head towards her after switching the TV off. "You know, your sister is not as bad as you describe her."

Arguing about this was something he wanted to do, but he was just too surprised that she was showing her kindness. When she spotted him staring, she looked the other way again. "What?"

"Why are you so nice to me? You're never nice," he questioned.

"Look, I'll put Jane to bed _then _we can talk." It took her maybe three minutes to carry her up, trying not to use vampire speed or Jane would wake up and vomit, put her in bed and then go down again. For the first time, Erica seemed unsure. She didn't look willing to sit down, but she did it, anyway.

"Will you answer the question now?" he demanded.

She sighed, putting her eyes on anything but him. "I know you remember me, okay?"

She knew? But how? The only person that knew that was… Benny. No, he had to control his anger. He didn't want to start yelling at his friend for just telling Erica something because he was a coward to do it himself. "Benny told you?" he asked.

It was confirmed when she nodded. He couldn't help a smile, and when Erica turned to look at him, she didn't either. He didn't know why he was smiling. Maybe it was because his old friend was in front of him again. "You know, I missed you."

The smile didn't even go away. "I guessed that." She took a pause before saying, "I do too."

His head was now resting on the couch. "I really thought you hated me." Now, he was getting a bit more serious.

"Well, I don't," she said. "Just because I hide the fact that I remember you with this mean attitude doesn't mean I hate you."

But there was something more to that. Something told him that. He could see it in her eyes. "Erica, what is it?"

Before he knew it, her arms were wrapped around him in a tight embrace. From the shock, all he did was pat her back.

"Thank you," she said.

"Why?" he asked.

"'Cause you're the reason bullies weren't there to hurt me back then," she said in a voice that was barely a whisper.

"It doesn't matter anymore." The more he spoke, the more he realized what was going on. "People love you now, and it's not because of me. I didn't do anything. I'm just one of the 'nerds'. I guess Jesse made you happy."

Away she went from him until they were no longer hugging. "No, don't say that. He ruined my life, Ethan, and you know it."

All this time, he thought she loved being a vampire. "But you don't hate your life. You-you-"

"Do you know how it feels like to realize that one day, all the people you love will age and leave you, and all you'd have are those powers that you won't be even able to have fun with? I wake up every morning wishing I'm human… but I'm not," she said. "You're lucky, you know."

He nodded, feeling sorry for her and looking away. Changing the subject was a must now. "Are you coming tomorrow? To babysit Jane?" He was now facing her again.

"If your parents are going out on another one of their dates, then I guess so," she said.

Not knowing what to say to that, he just suggested they watch TV again, which she agreed to without hesitation.

* * *

**Just to be clear, Ethan likes Erica, but he never even admits it to himself, even if he knows it.**

**Well, until next time…**

**-TEM**


End file.
